Shannon Kornelsen

Author, consultant, animal advocate

Shannon Kornelsen formerly served as the Director of Public Outreach and Humane Education for the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals. She regularly consults for various animal protection organizations. Shannon completed her Masters in Geography and Environmental Studies with an emphasis on sustainable food systems. She has appeared on CBC Television, CBC Radio, CTV News, Global News, City TV, and Fairchild TV.

TWC estimates that 85 per cent of the animals admitted to them are there due to human "interference", ranging from someone dumping baby squirrels in a garbage bin, to songbirds flying into office windows because the downtown core of Toronto was built along the ancient migratory route for these birds.

Any Canadian who has picked up a paper or watched the news in the last nine months knows Marineland has been in a lot of hot, over-chlorinated water since 15 ex-employees decided to speak out about animal abuse and neglect at the park this past August. Marineland is set to open again this Saturday. This is why we need you (yes you!) to be at the Marineland Opening Day Demonstration.

A municipal ban offers optimal protection for wildlife, domestic animals and people from all body-gripping traps. It sends a clear message to those trapping illegally that Toronto does not tolerate this violence. It offers Toronto a clear and swift enforcement tool when/if a situation like the one involving these beavers occurs again.

Eleven-year-old Jasmine was one of about 40 people who gathered at Canada Goose headquarters to hand-deliver 5,000 signed postcards imploring CEO Dani Reiss to stop using real real coyote fur on Canada Goose jackets and hats. Jasmine was met by security, who jumped in front of her as she approached the front door.

The mass slaughter of wildlife isn't the only thing unsustainable about the fur industry. Eighty percent of Canada's fur comes from factory farming, one of the most resource intensive and polluting industries on the planet. Yet the Fur Council of Canada's "Fur is Green" campaign remains largely unchallenged.

On Monday night in Toronto, a coyote was was out roaming for food, which is scarcer in the winter months. That sometimes means traveling a little further from home. For this coyote, a little further from home meant the edge of Cabbagetown, which was likely full of appetizing smells after the big thaw. The coyote's punishment for following her nose? She was chased, shot at, and killed by police. We must ask ourselves what kind of communities we want to live in. Communities that respect wild animals, or that treat them with fear and disdain? Communities that live peacefully with wild animals, or that violently eradicate them?

About 75 metres in, Rob's dog Pippin let out a yelp, and Rob ran towards the sound of her voice. To his horror, he found she had been caught by a Conibear trap placed within 30 feet of the trail (a completely legal act). He fought relentlessly to free her, but could not release the springs. After crying over Pippin's body in the snow for nearly half an hour, he was unable to remove the trap, so he carried her to his vehicle with it still attached. She died in his arms after several minutes of struggle. It took heavy tools and an angle grinder to remove the trap from Pippin's body.